Victoria gets her way as David signs £128m LA deal

David and Victoria Beckham are leaving Spain and heading for California after the former England captain signed a record-breaking £128million deal with a football club in Los Angeles.

Beckham will leave Real Madrid in June to play for LA Galaxy, in a deal which will run for five years and pay him a staggering £500,000 per week.

That's four times the wage of the best-paid players in the English Premiership and more than six times his current salary.

The move will almost certainly mean the end of his career at the highest levels of football but the potential for expanding Brand Beckham' into the lucrative U.S.market is almost limitless.

The 31-year-old midfielder said the decision to quit Spain had been extremely difficult', adding that he had relied heavily on the advice of his wife and family.

In interviews on American television, he said: It's the right time for us to do it. I don't want to go out to America when I'm 34 years old with people turning round and saying, "Well he's only going there to get the money".'

Friends revealed last night that after months of battling depression and a total lack of drive as his footballing aspirations fell apart at Real, Victoria took the initiative and made David's mind up for him'.

Beckham had been set on enjoying the autumn years of his career at a London club. Despite his lack of sparkle on the pitch this last year and being dogged by injury, numerous respected clubs Britain or Europe had been clamouring for him.

However, Victoria had already long been laying the foundations for the couple's move to America, having never settled happily in Spain.

Importantly, Simon Fuller, a confidant of Victoria's as the former manager of The Spice Girls, was pivotal in brokering the deal.

According to friends of the couple, it was Victoria who forced her husband's hand in the move.

And she has been telling friends it will be like the good old days again' when she was still Victoria Posh Spice' Adams, the big star of the Spice Girls. In recent weeks she is described by friends as having a new zeal' about her. She has been fielding numerous offers from American film and television producers and fashion houses under the guidance of Fuller, who is now a major name in U.S. television.

Among projects Victoria has been developing are an entire new range of clothes and sunglasses, a Beckham-themed' lifestyle range of home interiors to give the likes of Martha Stewart a run for her money.

Comedy cameo for Victoria

And she is hoping Tom Cruise will help her get cast in a comedy cameo. Fuller is also trying to line her up for a cameo in Desperate Housewives and even a spot guest-hosting Larry King has been talked about.

She is also currently also working on a movie treatment for a Beckham biopic. Fuller is also lining her up to be the star of a series about fashion on a major network.

Last month, Victoria viewed three properties in and around the celebrity enclave of Beverly Hills with a view to buying a palatial home.

Despite her undoubted celebrity, Victoria has never impressed British TV producers enough to land her own show.

For Galaxy, the Beckham brand is gold dust. Real earned some £1.3million a year from replica shirt sales and image rights.

Another company delighted with Beckham's move is Adidas. The German sportswear maker is his main sponsor, bringing in around £3million annually. Only in 2004, it began a ten-year, £77million deal to supply kit to all the Major League Soccer teams.

His other agreements, with Gillette, Pepsi, Motorola and fragrance maker Coty, depend far less on his performance as a sportsman but run roughly to the end of his playing days.

Some of these, such as Gillette, already capitalise on Brand Beckham in the U.S. To have the star finish his career there can only reinforce his value.

Beckham has said in the past that playing in the U.S. was something he would consider in the future'. But this season has proved particularly disappointing for him, as he fell out of favour at Real.

He stood down from the England captaincy at the end of a disappointing World Cup tournament.

LA Galaxy, which is owned by billionaire leisure industry mogul Philip Anschutz, admitted its interest in signing Beckham in November. Anschutz famously has ties with John Prescott.

Beckham has close ties with the Anschutz Entertainment Group through his U.S. soccer academy, which they set up in partnership in 2005.

It shares the LA Galaxy base at the Home Depot Centre in Carson, California.